Matthew Collins
Personal information
Full name Matthew Jeffrey Collins
Date of birth (1986-03-31) 31 March 1986
Place of birth Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Hungerford Town
Number 9
Youth career
–2001 Swindon Town
2001–2006 Fulham
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2007 Fulham 2 (0)
2007–2010 Swansea City 11 (0)
2007 → Wrexham (loan) 4 (0)
2010–2011 Haverfordwest County 19 (2)
2011–2012 Neath 28 (8)
2012–2013 Aberystwyth Town 22 (5)
2013–2014 Carmarthen Town 23 (3)
2014 Mangotsfield United 12 (1)
2014– Hungerford Town 23 (0)
International career
200?–2003 Wales U17
200?–2005 Wales U19 7 (4)
2006–2007 Wales U21 3 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:37, 21 September 2010 (UTC)

Matthew Jeffrey Collins (born 31 March 1986) is a Welsh footballer who plays for Hungerford Town. He has represented Wales at Under-17, Under-19 and Under-21 levels, and plays as a central midfielder and also as a right back.

Career

Born in Merthyr Tydfil, Collins started his career at Swindon Town but Jean Tigana and his Fulham scouts were impressed by him and he signed for the club in the summer of 2001 for a fee in excess of £250,000.[2] Two years later, Collins signed his first professional contract with the club.[3] During a pre season tour to Germany in the 2005–06 season, Collins sustained a hamstring injury, this was a start of a nightmare season as he had recurring hamstring tears which kept him out for an 18-month period. He did not break into the first team at Fulham and signed for League One side Swansea City on a free transfer in May 2007 on a two-year deal. In his first season, he was part of the squad that gained promotion to the Championship winning the League One Title.[4] He joined League Two side Wrexham on a one-month loan deal in November 2007.[5] He made his debut against Shrewsbury Town, playing a full 90 minutes. He returned to Swansea after playing four times for the Dragons.[6] Following an impressive pre-season Roberto Martínez started Collins in Swansea's first Championship match of the 2008–2009 campaign and the following two matches. Collins was rewarded for his good performances by John Toshack as the Welsh manager put the 22-year-old on the bench for the international friendly against Georgia.[7] On 11 August 2010, Collins left Swansea City by mutual consent in a search for regular football.[8]

After leaving Swansea, Collins joined Welsh Premier League side Haverfordwest County.[9] He was only with the Pembrokeshire outfit for 6 months and Collins was transferred to big spending Neath to join up with former Swansea colleagues Lee Trundle and Kristian O'Leary. In his first season at Neath he was part of the side that won the Welsh Premier League play-off final. Collins went on to play in the UEFA Europa League against top flight Swedish side Aalesunds FK, however Neath were unsuccessful progressing to the next stage of the competition.

In June 2012 he joined Aberystwyth Town following the liquidation of Neath.[10] Since joining Aberystwyth Collins has scored 5 goals in 13 games.

References

  1. ↑ "ESPN Soccernet". web page. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  2. ↑ "Fulham swoop for teenager". BBC Sport. 9 October 2001. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
  3. ↑ "Collins turns pro". Fulham Official Website. 7 April 2003. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  4. ↑ "Fulham's Collins joins the Swans". BBC Sport. 25 May 2007. Retrieved 3 November 2007.
  5. ↑ "Wrexham recruit Collins on loan". BBC Sport. 2 November 2007. Retrieved 3 November 2007.
  6. ↑ "Collins ends Wrexham loan spell". BBC Sport. 5 December 2007. Retrieved 3 November 2007.
  7. ↑ "Swans defender enjoying his time through the ranks". This is swansea. 8 December 2008. Retrieved 8 October 2008.
  8. ↑ "Swans part company with Collins". Swansea City official website. 11 August 2010. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  9. ↑ "Former Swan joins the Bluebirds". welsh-premier.com. 20 August 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  10. ↑ "Aber swoop for Collins and Follows". Welsh Premier League. 13 June 2012. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
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